Kansas City Chiefs‘ pursuit of a new start has taken a massive turn once again. Barely a month after the team announced they’d move across state lines, the front office made another solid decision to make their 2031 season move one step easier.

As per an official statement from the team, the Chiefs have narrowed down the firms that could shape their future home to two “well-known regional architectural design firms”, namely MANICA and Populous.

And a closer look at the two firms definitely show why exactly they were chosen.

MANICA brings extensive NFL experience, including designing the Tennessee Titans’ new Nissan Stadium in Nashville, set to be opened in 2027, the Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium, which saw its first NFL game being played in September 2020, and the new Chicago Bears’ stadium, which aims for an opening in 2029. But that’s not the end of its impressive designing portfolio.

The firm’s notable projects also include New Milan Stadium at San Siro (Milan, Italy), Chase Center (San Francisco, California), Miami Freedom Park (Miami, Florida), Birmingham City Football Club’s new stadium (Birmingham, United Kingdom), and VTB Arena Park (Moscow, Russia), and the Oklahoma City’s new arena (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma).

“Our entire team would be thrilled to partner with the Kansas City Chiefs to help bring their new home to life,” MANICA’s president and owner, David Manica, said. “The Chiefs are a storied franchise and we envision a stadium that exemplifies the organization’s championship mentality and the awe-inspiring spirit of our beloved Arrowhead Stadium. Every element will be approached with intention, ensuring a bold and modern design that not only honors the team’s legacy but creates an even better game-day experience for all of Chiefs Kingdom.”

Populous, meanwhile, offers nearly five decades of experience in venue design. The firm is behind the Buffalo Bills’ Highmark Stadium, the Sphere in Las Vegas, New AS Roma Stadium (Rome, Italy), Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (London, United Kingdom), the New Grand Stade Hassan II Stadium for the 2030 World Cup (Casablanca, Morocco), Wrexham AFC New Kop Stand (Wrexham, United Kingdom), Co-op Live (Manchester, United Kingdom) and the New Kai Tak Stadium + Sports Park (Kowloon, Hong Kong).

“For more than 40 years, Populous has proudly called Kansas City home,” the firms’ co-founder and Global Director, Scott Radecic, said. “From here, we have redefined modern sports venue design, creating iconic places that unite communities and transform how fans connect with their teams and each other. We are honored to collaborate with the Kansas City Chiefs on a project that reflects their legacy, the passion of Chiefs Kingdom and the promise of what’s next.”

That said, while the design process moves forward, the stadium plan itself hasn’t been without friction. Even as the Chiefs narrow in on who will design their next home, the franchise remains engaged in ongoing discussions and disputes with Kansas state lawmakers over the financial framework surrounding the $3 billion project.

The $3 billion taxpayer money-funded stadium in Wyandotte County will reportedly also include residential properties along with offices, hotel, shopping complexes and amenities for entertainment, sports and dining.

The move comes just over a month after the franchise finalized a two-part stadium agreement with state officials. Under the terms of that agreement, for now, the targeted opening is in 2031. Separately, the team will also develop a new practice facility and headquarters in Olathe, located in Johnson County. The project is expected to exceed $1 billion.

While the current review process focuses on the stadium and the practice facility, it doesn’t include the Chiefs’ headquarters.

Clark Hunt’s Chiefs face the stadium ownership disputes

Under the framework of the Chiefs’ proposed $3 billion stadium plan, Kansas officials have approved bond measures that would cover roughly 60% of the total cost. Clark Hunt’s Chiefs will fund the remaining portion. However, there’s one non-negotiable condition from the team’s side: The project only works if the stadium is publicly owned. And that single requirement is exactly why the deal is now facing scrutiny at the state level.

“If that (stadium) is not owned by a sports authority, if that is owned in private hands, then, if you would have $1.8 billion of STAR bonds come into that development, that would all be federally income taxed,” Chiefs attorney Korb Maxwell said when questions were raised about why the stadium wasn’t privately owned. “And so you would take, then, 45% of the dollars that came in and roughly ship that to Washington, D.C. … That would blow a huge hole in the budget for this project and, frankly, would not allow it to move forward.”

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Maxwell warned that without tax-exempt status, the federal tax exposure tied to the STAR bonds would significantly erode the project’s financial structure, potentially making the stadium untenable under the current framework. At that point, the stadium simply stops being financially viable. That leads to the “fix” the team is proposing.

The creation of a government-backed public authority that would own the stadium, with the Chiefs leasing and operating the facility. It’s a setup the franchise views as standard for projects of this scale, but one that still makes Kansas lawmakers uneasy.

For now, where this dispute ultimately lands remains uncertain. The stadium is still targeting a 2031 opening, and the Hunt family continues to move forward with finalizing design plans. Whether the venue ends up privately owned or under public control, however, is the question that will ultimately decide how, and if, this project moves ahead.